Associate Technical Director

Sony Pictures Imageworks is located on the unceded traditional territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. We are committed to respecting traditional lands and working with communities towards reconciliation.

Sony Imageworks Vancouver is seeking an Associate Technical Director (ATD)!

Reporting to the VFX and CG Supervisors, an ATD will be involved in the creation, development, and ongoing support of a large high‑end visual effect pipeline and asset management system, as well as application tools, utilities, and visual development of final images. This is a service‑oriented role, working between productions and development, and the ATD should have a helpful, patient, and accommodating personality.

Candidates should have a strong passion for art and lighting, developing and utilizing software to enhance the visual development process, seamlessly blending artistic vision with technical execution.

• Develop and maintain scripts, tools and utilities for 3D and 2D artists. Work in and understand the SPI’s proprietary pipeline.
• Create, package, document and release tools for production.
• Help author production‑specific training materials for new hires.
• Assist artists with technical issues anywhere in the production pipe.
• Assist teams to optimize and reduce render times for various render passes.
• Coordinate with the Render Efficiency Team to distribute and implement optimizations in production.
• Work as “triage” from time‑to‑time, acting as the point person for any and all production‑related queries to the pipeline department.
• Identify workflow inefficiencies and work with artists and other pipeline teams to build scripts, tools and/or systems to improve these inefficiencies.

• Strong interest in Visual Development, Film, Lighting and/or Compositing.
• Good knowledge of at least one or more of the following 2D/3D software packages such as Maya, Katana, Houdini, Clarisse, and Nuke.
• Programming experience, preferably in Python, Lua, or C++.
• Excellent problem‑solving and interpersonal skills.
• Experience in code‑sharing, revision control is a plus.
• Experience with Docker or other software distribution systems.
• Experience with Arnold or any other ray‑tracing‑based renderers such as Vray, Mantra, Renderman or Menta, Ray.
• Some experience writing shaders is a plus.
• Some basic knowledge or experience as a 3D or 2D artist is a plus.
• Undergraduate or Graduate degree in Computing Science or a related field is a plus.
• Individuals with a growth mindset eager to learn, ask questions, and unafraid to try, fail, and iterate.
• Confident in their abilities and knowledge, yet open to feedback and seeking improvement.

The anticipated base salary for this position is $26.44 to $36.32/hr benefits are per company policy and include healthcare, tuition reimbursement, RRSPs, sick and vacation leave, and standard increases as applicable. The actual base salary offered will depend on a variety of factors, including but not limited to the qualifications of the individual applicant, years of relevant experience, level of education attained, certifications or other professional licenses held, and if applicable, the location of the position.

Please note that you must be able to provide a demo reel that illustrates your relevant artistic and technical experience and includes the nuances for this specific role.

We value unique perspectives and want diverse, unique talent to work with us. We encourage candidates from all identities to apply.

* Sony Pictures Entertainment is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, or other protected characteristics.